Moore from Loja: Giving Thanks

Hi all, grace and peace to you!! I hope you all are well after your wonderful Thanksgiving gatherings and have taken some time to give thanks to the Lord for all that He has done and all that He is doing in your lives. We have been created to worship the Lord and give the glory back to Him.

1 Chronicles 16:29 - “Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

1 John 3:1 - "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:"

All is well here south of the equator! November is officially mango season in Ecuador, and we have been thoroughly enjoying the fresh mangoes! About two weeks ago, we were invited to the 82nd birthday of Maria's mother. She has 10 children, so you can imagine the extended family! All 10 children, as well numerous grandchildren and even great-grandchildren, made it out to the family finca in Vilcabamba for the party. We all enjoyed a day of hanging out and eating some great food. It was a great reminder and encouragement to us see how the family has been created to enjoy time with each other. A few of the highlights of the day were musical chairs, dancing, pinatas, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and picking fresh fruit from the trees. Kim and I were able to meet one uncle and a few cousins who are Christians. It is nice to know that there are people placed within this family that can be an example to the rest of the family. Please be praying that Kim and I will be a good example to the family that we live with and that the power of the Holy Spirit will speak to their hearts.

Thanksgiving just passed, and, fortunately, we were able to go enjoy some great food with the missionary team here in Ecuador. The “Lojanos” on the team made the 2-hour trek down to a small town called Gonzanama (“Gonzo”), where 3 of our missionaries work. About 29 of us came together to share the meal and fellowship. I think this is the first time that I have experienced a fresh turkey at the dining table; it looked a little more alive than the ones I am used to. It was also the most international Thanksgiving that either of us has ever experienced- our group was comprised of Americans, Ecuadorians, Australians, Swiss, and a German lady. The history of Thanksgiving was read aloud in Spanish, so everyone would understand why we were taking a day off in the middle of the week to drive out to Gonzanama and eat Turkey, of all things. All in all, it was certainly nice to celebrate with our extended family here in Ecuador, and it was a little reminder of home for each of us.

It was a special treat for us to meet a missionary couple about our parents' age who are currently working in Macara, another Ecuadorian town. The husband is Swiss and the wife is German, and they spent 30 years serving in Panama before coming to Ecuador. Another treasure from the day was the sunset on the drive home through the mountains. I think it lasted nearly 30 minutes and was full of amazing colors and lights. One more thing to be thankful for. I wish I could share the sunsets here with all of you, but I am sure a picture just wouldn't do it justice.

Our Bible studies are continuing to expand here, which is a blessing from the Lord. It is a great opportunity to share our hope in Christ with those that are hungering for the Word. I have three guys that are meeting with me once a week and with each of them I am going through Matthew to highlight who Christ is and how He fulfilled the prophecies that were spoken of before. During my time here I would like to alternate studying a book from the New and Old Testaments. So in the remaining months that we are here, we'll see how many books we can make it through. Kim has started working though the Gospel of John with two women from our Wednesday night English class using the Joy of Living Spanish curriculum. We both ask that you please pray for the work of the Spirit in the lives of these people, because it is only by the Spirit that they can be changed.

Today is the national census (“censo”) here in Ecuador, so we're house-bound from 7 am to 5 pm. Stores are closed, and our church met last night instead of this morning. Students have been trained to go from house to house filling out the questionnaires for each family. We were duly censoed at about 8:30 this morning and now have the entire day to enjoy our mandatory rest. Maria suggested putting up the family Christmas tree later this afternoon, so we'll help her with that in between catching up on some reading and honing our board-game skills. We miss all of our friends and family and, once again, want to thank you all for your love and support! We have seen God moving in Loja, and it's a blessing and privilege for us to be part of that work.

Thank you to all those that have and are helping financially. Also thanks to all those that are praying for us.

Love from Loja,
Doug and Kim